Ditch-gate.



A. J. COLLAR.

DITGH GATE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 11,1909.

970,308. Patented Sept. 13,1910.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

v ADONIRAM J. COLLAR, OF YREKA, CALIFORNIA.

BITCH-GATE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 13, 1910.

Application filed June 11, 1909. Serial No. 501,637.

It consists in the combination of a rising and falling gate havingfulcrum rods, and

counterbalancing weights, and mechanism whereby the gate isautomatically actuated, and a regular flow maintained.

It also comprises details of construction which will be more fullyexplained by reference to the accompanying drawings, in

' which Figure l is a side elevation partly in section. Fig. 2 is a planview. Fig. 3 is a section through the sluice and well. Fig. 4 is a planview showing the position of the gate in the sluice. Fig. 5 shows themanner of holding the flexible packing strip.

A is a sluice through which a body of water flows, and 2 is agate whichis fitted suffi'ciently closely across this space to be moved up anddown without undue friction. This gate has connected with it radius rods3 of considerable length, and these rods extending along the sluice arehinged or pivoted at 4 to a fixed transverse bar 4, which forms afulcrum around which the rods and the gate may rise and fall in an arcof a circle. In order to stiffen the gate, and to prevent twistingstrains thereon when the sluice is wide, I have shown braces 5 which arefixed to the back of the gate, and diverge from the top downwardly tothe outer edges of the bottom. One of the radius rods connects with thegate and the brace ribs at a suitable point below the top of the gate.The other two rods diverge from the hinge point, and connect with theribs at the bottom of the gate, thus forming a double triangular bracewhich insures the rigidity of the gate of any dimensions, and its easyoperation.

In order to provide means for preventmg undue leakage, and a close jointat the edges of the gate, without too much friction, I have shown twoinclined iron strips 6 bolted together, with a flexible packing 7between them. One side of each angle iron strip rests against the gate,and is held in place by elastic arms 8 passing through lugs 9 fixed tothe angle iron strips. The other edges of the strips extend parallelwith the side of the sluice, and the flexible packing strip projectsfrom these edges, and is adapted to be pressed snugly against the sideof the sluice by the pressure of the water. The angle iron clampingstrips being thus loosely mounted are free toturn upon their supports,and thus allow the joint to be easily maintained. The strips arepreferably bent at an obtuse angle, leaving room for the bolt-heads tohold them together, and to allow the edges of the packing to restagainst the side of the sluice. This furnishes a water-tight packing forthe gate, and yet causes very little friction. The sides of the sluiceat this point are preferably made of or lined with some smoothsurfacedmetal, or other surfacing material. By means of this peculiarmounting, these strips may be raised and removed from the gate at will.

At a suitable distance from the gate, and beside the sluice, is afulcrumed post 9, at the top of which is hinged a beam 10. The

gate is suspended from the end of the fulcrumed beam which projects overthe sluice, by means of a chain or other flexible connection 11. At theopposite end of the beam is suspended a counterweight 12, which may bein the form of a bucket containing rocks or some other heavy material.This weight should be slightly less than that of the gate and itsfixtures, when the gate is used for a head gate, or when a uniform flowof water is to be maintained below the gate. It may be considerablyheavier than the gate when usin it for a relief gate, or when a uniformheight of water is to be maintained above the gate, as will be morefully described hereafter.

Bolted to the side of the beam 10 and just behind the fulcrum post 9, isa shorter beam 13, which is set slightly divergent from the beam 10, sothat it stands substantially parallel with the sluice, and its outerfree end is above, and to one side of the wall of the sluice. Suspendedfrom this end of the supplemental arm by means of a rod 14, orequivalent connection, is an auxiliary welght 15. This auxiliary weightcan be comparatively small and it is suspended within a well or tank 16,fitted to the side of the sluice, and having an opening protected bygratings 17. Through this opening water is allowed to flow into thetank, and the gratings will prevent any obstructlng material frompassing through. A supplemental weight thus attached is of conslderable1mportance, since it may be made small, and a small tank employed which,when large gates are used, is an important 1tem. The supplemental weight15 is preferably in the form of a float which will be aifected by therise and fall of water within the tank. Th1s tank is provided with asmall outlet 18 which draws the water from it, but whlch is so smallthat when the flow of water through the sluice increases, and isadmitted into the tank, this flow will cause the water to rlse withinthe tank, and thus actuate the float, and raise the end of the fulcrumedbeams, and correspondingly depress the gate and reduce the flow of waterbeneath it.

The feed-way from the sluice into the tank is controlled by a movableflash-board 19, which is guided so as to be raised and lowered, andbehind this flash-board is a partition 20, extending not quite to thebottom of the tank, making a small forebay at the flash-board, whichrevents water from dashing over into the oat 15 in case of sudden riseof the water. This feed end is made wide, and the outlet is very small,as enough water will flow over the feed to maintain a certain amountwithin the tank, when the gate is standing about stationary. The widerthe feed, the shallower the sheet of water which pours over theflash-board, and the less chance there is of any debris flowing overinto the tank. The flash-board 19 is raised or lowered to set the flowof water in the ditch or sluice at the right depth to suit the operator,and the water will then always flow just flush with the top of theflashboard.

The operation will then be as follows: As long as there is plenty ofwater passing through the gate, it will flow in the ditch or sluice justflush with the upper edge of the flash-board, and no higher; as water atany appreciable height above the flash-board will cause the float 15 torise, and the gate being heavier than the counterbalance weight, thegate will descend enough to prevent surplus water coming through, andwill thus maintain the water in the ditch at the desired level. Duringhigh water, when the water stands nearly level with the top of the gateon its up-stream side, the gate will remain very close to the bottom ofthe sluice, as the increased pressure will force water enough under thegate to run even with the top of the flash-board. Now when the waterbegins to lessen in the stream from which it is being drawn, less waterwill pass under the gate, and the water will cease to flow over theflash-board. The drainage from the tank through the small opening willflow of water within the sluice be considerably increased when the gateis wide open, the increased flow will pass over the top of theflash-board, and raise the weighted float, thus lowering the gate, andreducing the flow to the normal amount.

If it is desired to close the gate and keep it closed, it is effected bymeans of a small pipe 22, leading from the sluice at a point above thegate, and opening into the tank 16. The flow from this pipe iscontrolled by any ordinary or suitable stop cock, as at 24, and whenthis flow is not desired,the stop cock may be closed, and the devicewill then operate as previously described. It is preferred that thispipe should have its highest point near the stop cock, and descend eachway to its entrance and exit points. The reason for this is that thewater within the pipe being stationary, the inclines will assist toprevent the settlement of sediment, which might otherwise clog the pipe.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is 1. In combination with a sluice, a rising and fallinggate, a fulcrumed lever having a fixed counterbalance weight, and asupplemental branch lever connected therewith, a float weight suspendedfrom said supplemental lever, a tank within which said float is located,means for admitting water to said tank from the sluice, and an openescape passage from the tank.

2. In combination with a sluice, a fulcrumed counterbalanced lever, anda supplemental float suspended therefrom, of a gate having radius rodsfixed to its back extending to a distance therefrom, and a bar and hingejoint to which the radius rods are connected.

3. In combination with a sluice, a gate fitting therein having radiusrods converging from the back of the gate, and a hinge point about whichthe outer ends of said rods are turnable, of bars fixed upon the back ofthe gate, and coacting with the radius rods to stiffen the gate, andprevent its twisting, and a fulcrumed counterbalanced lever connectedwith the gate.

4. In combination with a sluice, a gate, a fulcrumed counterbalancedlever, with one end of which the gate is connected, radius rodsconnecting with the gate, a fixed hinge or fulcrum point to which saidradius rods converge, angle iron strips loosely attached to the verticaledges of the gate,

flexible joint-forming strips clamped between said angle iron strips,and adapted to form joints with the sides of the sluice.

5. In combination with a sluice, a rising and falling counterbalancedgate, radius rods having one end attached to the gate, and converging toa distant fixed hinge point about Which said rods are turnable, angleiron clamping strips with flexible packing secured thereto, extendingvertically contiguous to the edges of the gate, said strips havingperforated lugs and elastic rods carried by the gate, and extendingthrough the lugs, said rods acting to maintain joints between thepacking and the sides of the sluice.

6. In combination with a sluice, a rising and falling gate, havingdivergent fulcrumed radius rods, a fulcrumed counterbalance beam, abranch of said beam eX- tending parallel with the sides of the sluice, atank located beneath the outer end of said supplemental branch, andhaving a small permanent discharge opening, a float located within thetank and connected with the branch beam, an opening from the sluice intothe tank, a flash-board and means for adjusting said board vertically,and a partition between the flash-board and the tank.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

ADONIRAM J. COLLAR.

Witnesses JAs. R. TAPsooT'r, OARRA BUSH.

